Life expectancy in Netherlands

Netherlands: Life expectancy was 81.4 years in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
81.4 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
20th
of 49 countries
All-time high
82.2 years
in 2019
All-time low
73.4 years
in 1962
Years of data
62
1960–2021

Life expectancy in Netherlands, 1960–2021

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Source: OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Netherlands recorded 81.4 years for life expectancy in 2021.

The figure is up 0.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Netherlands peaked at 82.2 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 73.4 years, in 1962.

Netherlands ranks 20th of 49 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.

Life expectancy in Netherlands, year by year

Annual values for Life expectancy in Netherlands, 1960 to 2021.
Year years Change
1960 73.5 years
1961 73.8 years +0.4%
1962 73.4 years -0.5%
1963 73.4 years +0.0%
1964 73.8 years +0.5%
1965 73.6 years -0.3%
1966 73.6 years +0.0%
1967 73.9 years +0.4%
1968 73.7 years -0.3%
1969 73.6 years -0.1%
1970 73.7 years +0.1%
1971 73.9 years +0.3%
1972 73.8 years -0.1%
1973 74.2 years +0.5%
1974 74.6 years +0.5%
1975 74.6 years +0.0%
1976 74.7 years +0.1%
1977 75.3 years +0.8%
1978 75.3 years +0.0%
1979 75.7 years +0.5%
1980 75.9 years +0.3%
1981 76 years +0.1%
1982 76.1 years +0.1%
1983 76.3 years +0.3%
1984 76.4 years +0.1%
1985 76.5 years +0.1%
1986 76.4 years -0.1%
1987 76.9 years +0.7%
1988 77.1 years +0.3%
1989 76.9 years -0.3%
1990 77.1 years +0.3%
1991 77.2 years +0.1%
1992 77.4 years +0.3%
1993 77.1 years -0.4%
1994 77.6 years +0.6%
1995 77.6 years +0.0%
1996 77.6 years +0.0%
1997 78 years +0.5%
1998 78.1 years +0.1%
1999 78 years -0.1%
2000 78.2 years +0.3%
2001 78.4 years +0.3%
2002 78.5 years +0.1%
2003 78.7 years +0.3%
2004 79.3 years +0.8%
2005 79.6 years +0.4%
2006 80 years +0.5%
2007 80.4 years +0.5%
2008 80.5 years +0.1%
2009 80.9 years +0.5%
2010 81 years +0.1%
2011 81.3 years +0.4%
2012 81.2 years -0.1%
2013 81.4 years +0.2%
2014 81.8 years +0.5%
2015 81.6 years -0.2%
2016 81.7 years +0.1%
2017 81.8 years +0.1%
2018 81.9 years +0.1%
2019 82.2 years +0.4%
2020 81.4 years -1.0%
2021 81.4 years +0.0%

Netherlands compared with similar countries

  • Netherlands's 81.4 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.4 years, 1.0× the median. (39 countries reporting)
  • Netherlands's 81.4 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 81 years, 1.0× the median. (31 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 73.63 years 73.4 years 73.9 years 10
1970s 74.58 years 73.7 years 75.7 years 10
1980s 76.45 years 75.9 years 77.1 years 10
1990s 77.57 years 77.1 years 78.1 years 10
2000s 79.45 years 78.2 years 80.9 years 10
2010s 81.59 years 81 years 82.2 years 10
2020s 81.4 years 81.4 years 81.4 years 2

Countries ranked near Netherlands

  1. 17 Canada 81.6 years compare
  2. 18 Denmark 81.5 years compare
  3. 18 Portugal 81.5 years compare
  4. 21 Austria 81.3 years compare
  5. 22 Chile 81.2 years compare
  6. 23 United Kingdom 81 years compare

See the full ranking of 49 places →

More health data for Netherlands

All data for Netherlands →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Netherlands?
Life expectancy in Netherlands was 81.4 years in 2021, according to OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Netherlands?
The highest recorded value was 82.2 years in 2019.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Netherlands?
The lowest recorded value was 73.4 years in 1962.
How does Netherlands rank for life expectancy?
Netherlands ranks 20th out of 49 countries with data for 2021.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Netherlands?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Netherlands data come from?
The figures come from OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Life expectancy in Netherlands. Statizoid, drawing on OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-oecd/netherlands/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy
Unit
years
Source
OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
49 places, 2,767 data points, 1960–2022
Last refreshed

Period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.